Scarlet Grace
by love-still-remains
Summary: Bella moves in with her dad after a traumatic experience in Arizona. She meets the Cullens and is quickly befriended. Jasper feels very drawn to her, but she is afraid to let anyone get closer than arms length. All Human.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Twilight, or any recognizable characters from Twilight.

**AN: **_**Edward and Jacob do not exist in this story. Bella is 17, and Jasper is 20. Rosalie and Emmett are both 22, and Alice is 13.**_

"Bella!" She turned towards the sound of her name and studied the man it belonged to. His dark brown hair had some gray streaks that hadn't been there the last time she had seen him, and he had lost weight over the past six-years, but this was definitely her father. "Bella...", he smiled slightly, stopping in front of her. "Charlie." she replied, unsure of what else to say. "How are you?" he finally asked. She frowned slightly and shrugged a shoulder, "I've been better." "Right", he nodded uncomfortably, "Well, you want me to carry anything for you?" She shook her head, nodding at her back-pack, "This is it." He nodded again, "Car's this way."

The ride home was silent, and Charlie appeared just as uncomfortable and lost in his thoughts as she was in hers. He didn't speak again until he was unlocking the front door, "Your room's upstairs, second door to the left." "Thanks...I remember." "Yeah, and the neighbor, Sue, helped me decorate it. I hope you like purple." Bella flashed him a brief smile, "Purple's great." "Good", Charlie cleared his throat, "I'm gonna' try to round us up some dinner...Go on and settle in."

Bella quickly went upstairs, glad to have been excused. It wasn't that she didn't like Charlie...She just didn't really know him, and to be here in her current situation made it even more awkward than it should have been. She smiled when she walked into her new bedroom. They really had done a good job decorating. The walls were a soft gray with white trim. The bed was covered with a deep plum bedspread and matching throw pillows. A plum colored rug was on the floor, and white Christmas lights twinkled on the walls, near the ceiling.

She sat her bag down on the bed and then walked into the connecting bathroom to clean up for dinner. A look in the mirror made her sigh in frustration. Her pale skin was even lighter from her lack of make-up, causing the dark circles under her eyes to stand out more than usual. Her long hair was tangled from sleeping on the bus, and the black sweater she wore hung loosely on her thin frame.

Finally Bella shrugged in defeat, deciding to quickly run a brush through her hair and be done with it. She washed her hands and then felt a cold chill run through her as she opened what she thought was a closet, to find a hand-towel. "_Charlie!_" she yelled, staring into the room she was facing. She heard his footsteps as he ran down the hall and burst into the bathroom, "What? What happened?" He then paused in realization when he saw where Bella was looking, "Oh..." "What is this?" Bella nearly whispered, looking at him in question. Before he could answer, Bella walked further into the room.

She ran her hand over the crib sitting against one wall. She moved to the changing table, and then to the rocking chair before turning back to face her dad, "Did you do this?" He nodded, feeling uncomfortable again, "I thought you might need it...for the baby." "You-you didn't have to do this." "I wanted to..." Bella nodded, unsure of what to say. The furniture somehow made the baby she was expecting seem much more real. She wouldn't be able to keep pretending that this was a bad dream. She sighed, "Thanks Charlie. I appreciate it."

A look of relief crossed his face when he saw that she wasn't really upset. He hadn't known exactly what to expect when Bella came to stay with him, not knowing the full situation, but had wanted to make things at least a little easier for her. Teenage pregnancy wasn't easy, as he knew from his own experience with Bella's mom, Renee. These thoughts quickly ran through his head, and he looked over to where his daughter was still standing, looking down at the crib, "Tell you what; I'm not much of a cook. When you're ready come on downstairs and we'll grab something to eat at the diner."

"Alright", Bella said quietly, unwilling to face him. If she did, he would see the tears running down her cheeks, and know that something wasn't right. She wasn't ready to face any of this right now, but as she well knew, life doesn't have a pause button, and sooner or later the truth hits you head on.


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Twilight, or any recognizable characters from Twilight.

"Bella, you coming in?" "Hm?" Bella looked up to see her dad standing next to the car, looking at her through the open door. "Oh, yeah," she mumbled, shaking her head, "Sorry." In all honesty, she hadn't even realized that the car had stopped. She sighed, following her dad towards the front door of the small building; that had been happening a lot lately. Whenever she had time alone her thoughts would all but consume her.

A bell rang over the door as her dad pushed it open, and he was nearly tackled by a dark-haired woman standing just inside, "Charlie, how are you?" the woman exclaimed once she had disengaged herself from his arms, "Did Bella make it home yet?" He chuckled slightly, glancing behind him, "She's got in this afternoon. Bella, this is Sue, the neighbor I was telling you about. She works here." Sue turned to Bella, her dark eyes sparkling, "It's so nice to meet you! The way Charlie described you, I expected a little girl." Bella forced a polite smile onto her face, "It's nice to meet you...Um, thanks for helping decorate my room." If possible, Sue's smile grew even broader, "Of course; I love decorating, and when Charlie told me that you were coming, well, I just had to help out somehow!" Bella nodded politely, and Charlie finally took pity on her, "Are you ready to eat?" She nodded gratefully, and Sue jumped back in embarrassment, "Oh, just look at me, going on, when you're probably starving! Follow me and I'll get you a table."

Once they were seated and had ordered their drinks, sweet tea for Charlie and water for Bella, Sue hurried off to the kitchen, and they were once again left in an awkward silence. Bella sat toying with her napkin as Charlie looked around the room. After a few minutes Bella looked up to see his eyes on her, "What?" He shook his head nervously, "Ah...nothing." She frowned, "Alright..." She was almost certain that it wasn't "nothing". She knew that he had something on his mind, but something, she was guessing nervousness, had prevented him from bringing it up. She also knew that he deserved some answers, but she wasn't ready to give him any. Sighing, Bella looked back down to her napkin, just as the bell above the door chimed. Charlie's face brightened and he waved at whoever had just walked inside, "Bella, I want you to meet some friends of mine."

Bella looked up as a group of people approached the table, and she was barely able to stifle her gasp. All of these people looked like models. She suddenly felt even more plain than usual, which was saying a lot. She stood when Charlie did, and nodded her head as they made the introductions. A tall man with blond hair spoke first, reaching his hand out to shake hers, "I'm Carlisle Cullen, and this is my wife, Esme." A beautiful woman with shoulder-length brown hair smiled, "Hello dear, I've heard so much about you from Chief Swan." Bella smiled a tense smile, stiffening as she forced herself to shake their awaiting hands, "It's nice to meet you." Charlie raised his eyebrows, "Carlisle is a doctor at Forks Hospital, and Esme is an interior designer." Bella nodded slightly, hoping that se looked interested. The next to speak was a slender woman with blond hair reaching half-way down her back, "I'm Rosalie McCarty, and this is my husband Emmett.", she said, nodding at a very tall, very muscular man with dark hair. Rosalie briefly shook Bella's hand and Emmett grinned widely, reminding her of a little boy, then spoke in a booming voice, "Hey Bells! Glad you're finally here!" Rosalie shook her head at him, and looked back at Bella, "You'll have to excuse him...He's...Well, he's...Emmett." She finished, shrugging helplessly, unable to find another word to describe him. Bella sightly smiled, then flinched, gasping as a pair of arms wrapped around her. "_Alice!_" Esme scolded. "Sorry", said the small, thin girl that the arms belonged to. Then looking up at Bella, smiled brightly, her light blue eyes standing out brightly, framed by her straight, dark hair, "I'm Mary Alice Cullen, but you can call me Alice; almost everybody does. I'm thirteen, but I'm in 9th grade, because I skipped my 6th grade year, so I'll be at Forks High with you, and I just know that we'll be great friends! I mean, I know you're a senior, but it'll be like we're sisters, and-" "_Alice!"_ Esme cut in on the girls' chatter, "Give her a chance to speak." "Sorry", Alice grinned at Bella again, who felt slightly stunned from the overload of information. Bella nodded, "It's alright." The last to speak was a tall boy with wavy, dirty-blond hair. His warm brown eyes captured her attention, and for a reason she couldn't explain, a feeling of calm washed over her as he spoke, "I'm Jasper Cullen. I'm honored to meet you." Bella noticed that he didn't reach for her hand, and was able to flash him a brief, but genuine, smile, "Thank you. I'm glad to meet you, too."

Bella noticed Charlie talking quietly to Carlisle, but when he saw her watching he smiled, "You ready to order?" She nodded and the Cullens excused themselves. Sue quickly took their orders, cheeseburgers and fries, and they were left at their table in silence once again. "So", Charlie said, "What do you think of the Cullens?" "They seem nice," Bella said carefully, not sure where he was headed with this. He nodded, "They're one of the most respected families in town." "Cool." "I hope you don't mind, but before you came, I talked to Carlisle about your...situation." Bella felt a knot form in her stomach, angry that he had been talking about her when he didn't even know what had happened, "Why?" "Well...I know how it can be, having a child at your age..." She narrowed her eyes, silently daring him to continue, "And?" He sighed, "Your mom thought it would be good if you had someone to talk to." "I don't need anyone." "Look, Bella, I know the baby's father isn't around-" "_You don't know anything about him!_!" She burst out, suddenly feeling nauseated from the memories trying to spring back up in her mind, "Excuse me." Bella bolted from the table and made it to the small restroom just in time to empty the contents of her stomach into the toilet.


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own Twilight, or any recognizable characters from Twilight.

**AN: Thank you for the reviews: **Mia14-15, NatalieLynn, kids2003, acw1, and Vampir3.S3duction. I appreciate it!

_"It's over; I can't do this anymore!" The hooded figure came closer, and Bella took a step back, "James, it's over!" Now his face was in view, and she could see his sardonic smile, "Oh, Isabella...It'll never be over." He grabbed her arm, and she screamed as he chuckled dryly, whispering next to her ear, "You're mine."_

"Bella! Bella, wake up!" Bella gasped, sitting straight up in bed. Charlie was standing next to her, his hand on her shoulder, "Are you alright?" She nodded weakly, clearing her throat, "Yeah...Yeah, I'm fine." His look said that he didn't believe her, "You were screaming again." "I know...It happens." "What do you mean?" "I just have a lot of bad dreams; it's no big deal", she shrugged. Her father shook his head, "I don't have time to argue about this; I just know that when you wake up screaming more days out of the week than not, something isn't right." She shivered slightly, then glanced over at her alarm clock, "I'm fine Charlie, and it's time to get up anyway...School, you know."

He nodded, heading towards her doorway, "I have to get to work kid. I'll be back around 5:00pm." "Bye Charlie," Bella said, crawling out of bed, and walking over to her closet. This would be her first day at Forks High School, and she couldn't say that she was looking forward to it. She'd been the new girl in school a few times, due to traveling with her step-dad's job over the last several years, but it had never gotten easier. Sighing, she grabbed a pair of jeans and a Harvard sweatshirt that she had gotten at a garage sale. It was a decent enough outfit for the rainy weather outside, and she wasn't planning to try and impress anybody anyway.

Bella quickly pulled on the outfit, frowning when she had to struggle slightly to button the pants. Her stomach hadn't grown visibly, from what she could tell, but for the past few weeks her clothes had been saying otherwise. She shook her head, going into the bathroom to brush her teeth, pulling her hair up in a messy bun on the way. She rarely felt like wearing make-up, and only dabbed a little foundation on to cover the circles under her eyes, and a little vaseline to give her lips a slight shine and keep them from getting chapped.

She heard a car horn outside, and suddenly groaned, remembering that Charlie had scheduled her a ride to school with Jasper Cullen. He had already graduated, but had to bring Alice to school, passing Bella's house on the way. It was only logical that she ride with them, but still, she would rather walk and avoid the questions that were sure to come up.

She hurried downstairs and grabbed a water bottle out of the refrigerator on the way to the door. A shiny black jeep sat in the driveway, and Bella saw Jasper in the driver's seat, with Alice bouncing up and down behind him. Bella sighed again, going to the passenger's side. Before she could grab the handle, Jasper had leaned across the seat and pushed the door open for her. "Thanks," Bella said, getting in. "Hey, Bella!" Alice nearly shouted, leaning up between Jasper and Bella. "Hey, Alice." Bella replied, slightly smiling at the younger girl, who was so clearly excited."How are you? Are you excited to start school?" "Um..." Bella hesitated, "I'm good..." Alice nodded cheerfully, not noticing that Bella hadn't answered her second question. "Hey, can I give you a makeover sometime? I'm really good at it, and I can totally do something with your hair. It's, like, a really great color, but you just have it all piled up on your head, which, I mean is fine, but-" "Ali," jasper cut her off, "Get your seatbelt on." Bella felt relieved when Alice stuck her tongue out at her brother and moved back against her seat, clicking the belt into place.

"So, Bella, can I, though?" Bella chuckled slightly, "Yeah, maybe, sometime." Alice squealed happily, and Bella could almost imagine what Alice was already planning to do. After a moment of silence Jasper glanced over, "How's your week been?" Bella looked down at her hands, "It's been alright. Getting settled in, you know." "Right", he nodded, looking like he was contemplating something. Soon they were pulling up to the school, and Alice was chattering about her classes and friends, as she got out. "Bye Jazzy!" the girl called, taking Bella's arm and pulling her towards the entrance, "Come on, let's get your schedule before the bell rings." Bella followed Alice, looking back once to wave good-bye to Jasper. He lifted his hand in farewell, and it could have been the morning sunlight in her eyes, but Bella was almost positive that he had winked.


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own Twilight, or any recognizable characters from Twilight.**

Alice was still hanging on to Bella's arm in excitement when they walked into the building. Bella glanced around quickly and inwardly groaned. It was smaller than her last one in Arizona, which meant that it wouldn't be as easy to blend into the crowd. She also knew that if word got around about why she was really here, the entire town would know in a matter of days.

Bella turned to look at Alice, "Um, I need to go find the office." Alice's face brightened when Bella spoke, "It's right here, silly!" Alice pulled Bella towards a door nearby that she hadn't noticed. When they walked inside, a middle-aged woman with a seemingly permanent frown looked up, "May I help you?" Alice tugged Bella forward, grinning at the woman, "Hey, ! This is Bella, and she needs to get her schedule." The woman sighed, shuffling through a stack of papers on her desk. Finally she looked back up, "Isabella Swan?" Bella slightly flinched before nodding. She didn't like being called Isabella...The fact was, she could hardly stand it after...After _him_...That's what _he _had insisted on calling her...

Alice had noticed Bella flinch and leaned closer, "Are you okay?" Bella just nodded, and Alice didn't look convinced, "I'm thirteen, I'm not stupid. Something's up with you." "I'm fine." Alice looked like she was about to speak again when interrupted their whispered conversation, "Here's your schedule, Isabella. If you need help finding any of the classes, I'm sure Alice, or anyone else, will be willing to help you."

Bella quickly thanked the woman and left he office. Alice was looking at her schedule as she walked down the hall. Soon she stopped, pointing at a door, "You have English first." "Thanks Alice." Alice smiled, "Sure thing. Find me at lunch, okay?" Bella nodded, then turned, walking into the classroom. Students were still filing in, and Bella walked over to the teacher's desk. The man looked up quickly, and smiled, "What can I do for you?" She handed him her schedule, "Um, I'm new here..." "Ah, yes, Isabella, we've been expecting you!" "Just Bella's fine." "Alright, just Bella, go ahead and pick a seat. There's several open in the back, if you don't mind sitting there." "It's fine, thanks."

Bella slid quietly into a seat, hoping to still, somehow, find a way to blend in. She knew it hadn't worked when a guy with spiky, brown hair walked up, "Hey, I'm Mike." She hesitantly shook his outstretched hand, "I'm Bella." "So, you're from Arizona, right?" "Yeah...how'd you know that?" He laughed, "Small town, word gets around. Chief Swan's been talking about you coming home for weeks." Before Bella could respond, a girl wearing tight jeans and a low cut t-shirt walked up. She grabbed Mike's arm and flashed Bella an insincere smile, "I'm Jessica." Bella nodded slightly, "...Bella." The girl narrowed her eyes, "You're Chief Swan's kid?" "Yeah." "So, your daddy's a cop", the girl continued in a nasally voice, "Are you, like, all goody-goody? Like, you never break the rules, or what?" "Jess, lay off her", Mike interrupted, frowning at the annoyed looking blond. Bella rolled her eyes as Jessica huffed, turning away. Thankfully, the teacher chose that moment to start class.

English went fine for Bella, as did Biology and Algebra. She didn't have much trouble finding the classes, and soon it was time for lunch. Walking into the crowded cafeteria, she wrinkled her nose at the smell of old grease. She scanned the room for Alice, and saw her sitting at a table near the wall, waving. Bella hurried over, glad to see a familiar face, and Alice jumped up, hugging her. "Hey Bells!" "Hey Alice", Bella said, extracting herself from the hug as quickly as possible. "You hungry? The foods not too terrible today..." Bella looked down at Alice's tray and felt her stomach clench at the strange combination. A slice of pizza, covered in ranch dressing, sat next to a generous heap of mashed potatos and gravy. A granola bar was leaning against a brownie, situated beside a boiled egg. "Um...I'm not really hungry." "Did you eat breakfast?" "No...I'll probably eat a lot for supper, though." Suddenly Alice grinned, "I forgot! My mom and dad invited you and Chief Swan over for dinner!"

Bella sighed inwardly. She really was starting to like Alice, but going over to the Cullen's house didn't sound like such a good idea...From what Charlie had said, knew too much about her already...It would only be a matter of time before the rest of the family found out, and that was something Bella was not looking forward to.


End file.
